Will O'Donoghue would be forgiven for being more upset than most at the suspension of hurling action last month.
Having finally nailed down a starting role in the Limerick midfield after a 2019 campaign that ended in an All-Star nomination, the Na Piarsaigh man was to the fore as the Treaty began the Allianz Hurling League campaign with five straight wins.
A semi-final clash against Wexford, Galway, Kilkenny or Waterford awaited. And still does. Don't hold your breath.
There has been much debate over potential dates and formats for the Championship but for O'Donoghue, continuing to train without an end goal in sight is a minor irritant compared to the impact of Covid-19 on the nation.
"There are a lot of people making much bigger sacrifices than the interruption we are facing in terms of our GAA calendar," he told RTÉ Sport.
"People who are on the frontline, putting themselves at risk, how much longer are they going to have to endanger themselves or stay away from their family or loved ones? Issues like that are much more prominent than us having to train with no end-goal in sight. That makes that quite insignificant.
"Everyone on a GAA team has family members or loved ones that they can’t see at the minute, I have grandparents I can’t see. We have to be conscious that there are people making much bigger sacrifices and it would be quite selfish of a GAA player to say 'It’s tough on me not knowing when or if I’m going to have a Championship'.
"It will be down to health officials and ministers, Dr Tony Holohan and the advice of his colleagues, whether or not there will be games. Obviously you have ex players, managers, and players giving their two cents on how likely or unlikely it will be.
"Ultimately, it is a waiting game to see the way things pan out. Unless we are given the all clear, that it is safe to do so and people's health won't be at risk from a club or inter-county season then I don't think we will be seeing anything. They've put in such strict measures to protect people's health that a GAA Championship that could potentially endanger that isn't going to be allowed happen. We will just have to wait and see."
"It's probably the same thing I was doing when I was about eight years of age"
O'Donoghue has been training alone, which he describes as "mostly about staying active and filling time as it is anything else", doing what cardio, strength and skills work he can at home.
"I do have a wall to hit a ball against. It's not too complex now, it’s probably the same thing I was doing when I was about eight years of age. But it’s a release, something to do. At the minute a wall and a couple of free weights to me are as good as anything else."
Questions have been raised over how long athletes can be expected to stay in peak condition with no date for resumption in sight but the 25-year-old believes elite players are happy to exercise, for its own sake as much as trying to maintain a competitive edge.
"If we were told to do nothing for two weeks, I don’t think there’d be a single fella on the panel who wouldn’t be out doing something. Because like anyone, you see how many people are out walking and running, it’s good for your mental health, and also just to get out of the house.
"I don’t know what the long-term implications would be on your physique, and your athletic performance, but I’d imagine that even if there was to be no championship, every player on an inter-county panel or club panel would still be doing some form of exercise."
Like many GAA clubs, north Limerick city outfit Na Piarsaigh have diverted their collective energies to helping their local community, something O'Donoghue feels deserves as much attention than speculation about when games might resume.
"Our own club are running a programme where they are collecting prescriptions and groceries and there's lots of volunteers," he said. "A task is put into a WhatsApp group and within a minute I'd say every single one has been claimed that someone will go and do it.
"There's talk of the revenue loss and all that but when you see what the GAA is doing for people to keep them safe, to keep them in good health and good spirits and make sure they're looked after, I think that's something that should be publicised a whole lot more.
"I'm sure that's happening right throughout the country and I think everyone's togetherness and willingness to support people has been very much a standout positive that I've noticed anyway."
O'Donoghue is grateful to still be working - with supermarket suppliers Elite Home Products in Shannon - and hasn't yet had to resort to learning the violin or painting the fence to keep himself occupied.
"If I pick up an instrument in this lockdown, it will have lasted about five years. It would take a long time before I turn my hand at that, unfortunately I'm not very musical!
"I’m quite fortunate that I have work and my routine. In terms of what I do in the evenings I don’t have that much time to be playing around with but you certainly have extra time to spend with family and loved ones in terms of not having to be at training.
"I’m sure those silver linings are being taken by a lot of people, especially our management teams across the country, who are probably getting to spend more time with their kids and families than they ever have. That’s something we can be thankful for."
Like many other GAA fans around the country, O'Donoghue has been getting his sporting fix by catching up on classic matches screened by RTÉ and TG4.
"I've been watching a couple of them. I saw a couple of assaults taking place there in games in the 80s! It would have been interesting times to play in one of those games.
"When you look back... how skilled those players were back then and how physical the game was."
Asked for two choices at his own position in RTÉ's All-Stars of the Sunday Game era poll, the Limerick centre-fielder plumped for a Cat and a Rebel.
"I'd have to go for Michael Fennelly because when I was growing up he was at the peak of his powers.
"I saw Jerry O’Connor on the 2004 Munster final last week and I was fairly impressed so I’ll go with him too."
Will O'Donoghue was speaking on behalf of Allianz Ireland, who have renewed their support for communities across Ireland through a five-year extension of its three-decade long sponsorship of the Allianz Football and Hurling Leagues.
